


Constellations Rising

by HyperchaoticStarlight (MVPYurio)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Minor Character Death, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-03-29 17:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13931709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MVPYurio/pseuds/HyperchaoticStarlight
Summary: Ask any resident of the small but lively city of Garrison and they'll tell you—don't move here if you want a drama-free life. Some say that the city is cursed. Many make wry jokes about Murphy's Law ringing true—and of course, there's that church at 17th and Upland whose members assert that the city's first mayor was gay and God still isn't over it. All agree that the city council, public works department, and emergency responders are in over their heads (and, at least in the case of the police, wholeheartedly incompetent).Luckily for the fair—and disproportionately fair-skinned—citizens of Garrison, they have the Paladins, a team of superheroes who may not decrease the drama, but at the very least do a decent job at mitigating some of the damage.But, unbeknownst to most, the Paladins are teenagers behind their black and gold uniforms, and are not always as confident and sure of themselves as they appear. With only each other to lean on for support, they must navigate human life and ask themselves what truly makes them heroes, while simultaneously defeating nemesis after nemesis, each with a progressively darker agenda...





	1. Traffic Control

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, welcome to my new Voltron fanfic! I've been planning and working on this for just about a month, and while I haven't worked everything out yet, I did have enough to start posting!  
> For the first time EVER, I'm going to try and stick to a regular posting schedule. My goal is to put out a new chapter every Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to stick to that!

In all fairness, Lance didn’t really have a right to be surprised anymore.

For the past two years, his watch had turned bright red and vibrated lightly against his skin at least two or three times a week, with zero regard as to what it was interrupting. Lance had missed everything from chemistry labs to math tests to his own birthday party. This time, it buzzed smack in the middle of APUSH, which was both his favorite class and the one he most needed to be in if he wanted to pass eleventh grade.

To his left, Hunk’s eyes, usually made of sunshine, had clouded over with exasperation. Hunk turned his hand so Lance could see his wrist. His watch had turned red, too.

 _You made your bed,_ Lance reminded himself. And indeed he had. For a split second, he thought back to the day that he had chosen to change his life, immersing himself in a rushing tide of memories.

What he wouldn’t give to be in the ocean right now, to touch the crest of a wave.

His watch vibrated again, more firmly this time. He looked to his right, and sure enough, Keith and Allura were in the hallway, staring at him. Allura for one was quickly becoming impatient.

 _“We gotta go,”_ he mouthed to Hunk. Hunk nodded reluctantly.

Time to employ the ever-important skill of sneaking out of class without the teacher looking. Hunk and Lance had it down to a science. As soon as Ms. Carter had her back turned, they stood up soundlessly and made their way out of the room.

“Took you long enough,” Keith muttered.

“Well _excuse_ you,” Lance snapped. “I don’t want detention.”

“Boys, enough,” said Allura. “The sooner we complete this mission, the sooner we can all get back to class.”

“Right as always, Allura,” said Lance. “Let’s make like a tire and hit the road.”

“Someday, we’re going to get sick of your stupid puns,” said Keith.

Lance shook his head. “I refuse to believe that.”

 _“We have to go,”_ Allura said more firmly. “Our watches will deactivate any minute now.” With that, she tapped her watch twice, glowing pink for just a moment before vanishing into thin air.

“You heard her,” said Lance.

Allura was already in the briefing room when the others arrived, sitting directly in front of the monitor and talking to Shiro.

“Here they are,” said Allura.

“Good morning, Paladins,” said Shiro. “Sorry to pull you from school again, but we have a situation. There’s been a massive crash at the intersection of Dartmouth and Brown. Officials say that the crash was caused by traffic lights displaying green when they weren’t supposed to.”

“Really?” Lance asked incredulously. “You called us all out of class for a timer malfunction?”

“I’m not finished,” said Shiro. “That intersection isn’t run on a timer. It’s part of the CTCN.”

“What’s that?” Keith asked.

“The Central Traffic Control Network, or CTCN, is a set of computer-controlled traffic lights,” Shiro explained. “There are about two thousand CTCN lights across the city, all of which are operated out of an office downtown. Thirty minutes before the crash, CTCN operators were reporting that their computers were not operating correctly. It would seem that a hacker injected malware into the computer system, causing the lights to malfunction. Projections indicate that all two thousand CTCN lights will be affected within the next three hours. Should that happen, the destruction will be catastrophic. Your job is to fix the computer system, catch the hacker, and mitigate the damage.”

“Understood,” said Allura. “Let’s go.”

“I’m sending the address of the office to your visor navigators,” said Shiro. “Once you suit up, you’ll be able to see the directions.”

“Let’s do that, then,” said Allura.

“Ready to kick ass?” Lance asked, gently nudging Keith with his elbow.

“Always,” Keith replied.

Suiting up was one of Lance’s favorite parts of the job. In the blink of an eye, he went from Lance McClain, normal teenager, to Sharpshooter, deputy of the Paladins and a rising star in the field of heroics.

He looked around to see that his teammates were transforming as well. Everyday clothes became armor accented in different colors that matched their helmets. Lance could see the smiles breaking out across their faces.

Allura’s eyes sparkled—actually, her entire body sparkled—as she became the Princess. The clouds in Hunk’s eyes vanished and the sunshine returned, shrouding him with light as he transformed into Malosi.

Keith wasn’t one for transformation sequences. He preferred to shift quickly and get the job done, so his transformation into Samurai happened in the span of a breath, a blink.

Lance couldn’t help but admit that Keith’s uniform looked the best on him. It wasn’t personal or anything—just that the black and gold base of their uniforms looked best with Keith’s red, as opposed to Allura’s pink, Hunk’s amber, or even his own blue.

“We gonna fly for this one, or should we grab our wheels?” Keith asked.

“If we’re going to apprehend the hacker, we’ll need the truck,” Allura replied. “Sorry, Hunk, but you’re going to have to be grounded for this one.”

“Are you kidding? I love that truck.”

“Then we’re good,” said Lance. “Paladins, move out!”

~~~~

“Thank God you’re here,” said the site director. “We have no idea where this is coming from, and there are already other traffic lights that are failing.”

“The Princess is good with computers,” said Lance. “If anyone can crack this, she can. And the rest of us are here to track down whoever did this and bring them to justice.”

“Tell me more about this network,” said Allura.

“Well, the entire thing is being run by a central server,” the director explained. “The technology that controls the lights is all patented and licensed out to the city.”

“Who owns the patent? Have you contacted them for support?”

“It’s owned by a company called Arlag Enterprises,” said the director. “We’ve been trying to contact them all day, but we’ve gotten nowhere.”

“Well, are you sure you want our help?” Lance asked. “The Princess’s methods are far from conventional. One false move and the city could lose its warranty.”

“Lives are in danger, Sharpshooter,” said the director. “To hell with the warranty.”

“Alright,” said Lance. “Work your magic, Princess.”

“Get me to a workstation,” said Allura. “I should be able to fix the problem from any connected computer. In the meantime, I want the rest of you to fan out to affected areas and do what you can about the accidents. When I’ve made progress, I will call all of you back here.”

Hunk and Keith saluted and ran out the door. Lance lingered for a moment, giving his leader a soft, admiring smile. He considered all of the Paladins to be his best friends, but Allura was more than a best friend. At their best, they were of one mind, moving perfectly in sync.

His first year being a Paladin, Lance was severely injured in battle. Hunk shut down in the midst of the crisis, devastated and terrified, and Keith devoted himself to vengeance, disappearing for three weeks while he hunted Lance’s attacker.

Allura had been his blood donor. Her blood ran in his veins that day, and to Lance, that made her as true as any sister could be.

He felt her arms wrap around him, hugging him close for a moment before pulling away. “The city needs you,” she said quietly. “Go on.”

Lance nodded and exited, following his visor navigator into the scene of a crisis.

His heart nearly stopped as he reached the intersection. Cars had collided and spun so far out of control that the fuel tanks had ignited, lighting the whole block on fire.

“Look!” someone called, pointing up. “It’s Sharpshooter!”

Lance waved. Well, fire was something he could deal with.

“Hope y’all weren’t getting used to this humidity!” he shouted. “I’m gonna need to borrow it real quick.”

With that, he began to condense the water vapor in the air, creating a grey cloud that hovered over the intersection. A few moments later, rain started to fall.

“Hydrokinesis!” Lance said brightly, flying into the rain. “Gotta love it.”

Once the fires were mostly out, he landed in the middle of the street. Sirens filled the air as ambulances came on scene.

 _Looks like this is mostly handled,_ he thought. Time to call the others.

“Just neutralized a malfunction over by the old movie theatre,” he said once everyone’s face had popped up in his visor communication screen.

“Great,” said Allura. “I need all of you to come back to the control site, as quickly as you can.”

~~~~

“How’re you doing, Princess?” Lance asked as he walked up to Allura’s side.

“Bad news, everyone,” said Allura. “I’ve tried everything I can think of, and nothing is working.”

“Seriously?” Lance asked. “You’re usually a whiz at getting rid of malware.”

“It’s weird,” said Allura. “It almost seems like every time I get through a code wall, another one appears. It’s like this thing is programmed to fight back.”

“Wait, hold on,” said Hunk. “Maybe we’re going about this wrong. Maybe it’s not malware, but someone actively in the mainframe?”

“So someone went in, screwed up the computers, and they’re still there?” Lance asked.

“Maybe,” Hunk shrugged. “It’s definitely a possibility.”

“I think it makes a lot of sense,” said Allura. “So now we just have to figure out who it is and how to find them.”

“Well, this might be helpful,” said Keith, jabbing his thumb at the computer screen. Words flashed on it in bright green letters.

**_LET’S PLAY HIDE AND SEEK. YOU’RE IT._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	2. Short Stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry for not posting on time—I was busy last night! Here is the next chapter!

“Hide and seek…” Allura stared at the monitor, tapping her finger against her chin. “What if the hacker is literally here? In the building?”

“That would take some _serious_ guts,” said Lance. “But hey, it’s worth a shot.”

“Y’know, we’ve been accessing the server from this station, but there’s still a room in the basement where the server is actually hosted,” said Hunk. “We could try down there.”

“Sounds good,” said Allura. “Sharpshooter, Samurai, you two go down there. If you find the hacker, call for backup.”

“You got it, Princess,” said Lance. “C’mon, pretty boy. Let’s go catch us a rapscallion.” With that, he took off, leaving Keith with little choice but to super-speed to Lance’s side.

“Did you seriously just use the word rapscallion?” Keith asked, slightly incredulously.

“That’s the part you take issue with?” Lance asked, a little more incredulously.

“Yeah? What other part…”

“Never mind,” Lance said quickly. “Yes, I said rapscallion. Fight me.”

They made their way downstairs to the main control room. The door was wide open.

“Well, that’s gotta be against protocol,” Lance mused.

“Oh, you think?”

A voice was calling from inside the room. Lance and Keith moved in slowly to see that someone was spinning in a black swivel chair, just hidden behind a pillar and some shadows.

“Show yourself,” Lance called.

The chair stopped spinning. They saw a pair of legs poking out and scooting the chair forward, and then they saw—

“A kid?” Keith blurted out. “You’re… you’re a kid.”

“And?”

“And… I didn’t expect for the hacker to be a kid.”

“Well, that’s your problem,” said the hacker. “You never expect anyone my age to be able to do anything.”

“We found our hacker,” Lance said into his comm. “Everyone come on downstairs.”

“Who are you?” Keith asked.

“Why should I tell you?” the hacker asked. “You could call my parents.”

“Kid, you caused multiple major accidents in the middle of the city,” said Lance. “I think that warrants calling your parents.”

“Whoa, wait, it’s a kid?” Everyone turned around to see Hunk in the doorway.

“Oh, for crying out loud, enough about my age,” the hacker snapped. “I’m fourteen. Get over it already. Yeesh.”

“Okay, okay,” said Allura. “Do you know who we are?”

The hacker rolled their eyes. “I’m _fourteen._ I’m not _two._ You’re the Paladins. Everyone knows who you are.”

“I have a question,” said Hunk. “A real one. Why did you do this?”

“Cuz I could,” the hacker said flippantly.

Hunk shook his head. “I know you’re not telling the whole truth. Try again.”

“Why does it matter? I’m going to get in trouble for it anyway.”

“If you really knew about the Paladins, you’d know that it matters to us,” said Hunk. “Now. Why did you do this?”

The hacker crossed their arms and glared at Hunk. “Not telling.”

“Cooperate and we’ll cut you a sweet deal,” said Lance. “Answer Malosi’s question.”

“Fine,” they muttered. “My older brother was killed at that intersection because a drunk driver didn’t stop at a red light. I was mad. Happy now?”

“You wanted control,” Hunk said quietly. “You lost your brother to something you couldn’t control, and taking over that intersection and causing the same kind of chaos was satisfying somehow.”

“I guess,” the hacker shrugged. “Fine. Yeah. It was.” They closed their eyes, pressing their fingers into their forehead. “Matt and I were so close,” they said quietly. “I was his favorite girl. He always said so. I’d get picked on at school and he always took care of me, every time. Sometimes he’d catch them at it and he always said, _That’s my sister you’re talking about. She’s gonna go far one day, and you’ll regret everything you ever said and did._ And then he’d get me ice cream.”

“I’m really sorry,” said Hunk. “How long ago was this all? If you don’t mind.”

“Last year. Exactly a year ago today. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Okay, new question,” Lance interjected. “How did you manage to get into the computers?”

The girl’s eyes lit up immediately and she smirked. “You’ll have to see it to believe it,” she said. “I touched the computer and two seconds later I knew what the passwords were to get in. Once I was in the mainframe, the rest was just basic hacking skills.”

Allura blinked a few times. “Wait, you touched—”

“Give me your phone,” said the hacker. “Or anything with a password, passcode, anything.”

“Tell you what,” said Lance. He pulled out his phone and typed an email into the Gmail login field. “This is one of the decoy emails I give to stores and stuff.”

The hacker took the phone. For a split second, her eyes seemed to glow green, and then she began to type. Moments later, she held the phone up. “I’m in.”

Lance gave a low whistle. “Pretty impressive.”

“What, you just believe her?” Keith asked. “Come on, it’s gotta be a trick.”

“How could it be?” Lance retorted. “I didn’t tell her, and my phone is a touchscreen so she can’t have done it by looking at worn down buttons.”

“She could have reset the password,” Keith suggested.

“I have really good security questions,” said Lance.

“Okay, but tell me I’m not the only one who saw her eyes when she did it,” Hunk interjected.

“What did you see?” Keith asked, clearly becoming exasperated.

“Her eyes glowed and turned green,” said Hunk.

“I’m right here, y’know,” the hacker said loudly. “And I know you probably think I’m a piece of shit, but I swear I’m telling the truth. I can tell the password by touching the device.”

“I don’t think you’re a piece of shit,” said Lance. “I believe you.”

“So do I,” said Hunk. “Princess?”

“I do too,” said Allura.

“Samurai, I love you, but there’s just no way this is a trick,” said Hunk. “The only other option is that she got the answer directly from Sharpshooter’s head, telepathically. Either way, I saw her eyes glow. Whatever it is—”

“Don’t you dare say it,” Keith warned.

“—there’s only one possibility—”

_“Malosi—”_

“Face it, Samurai,” Hunk interrupted. “She’s a Unique.”

“No,” Keith said firmly. “Absolutely not. There’s no way.”

“Search your feelings,” said Lance. “You know it to be true.”

“Okay, so one, don’t quote Star Wars at me, and two, okay, fine, let’s just pretend for a minute that it’s even _remotely_ possible for her to be a Unique. How would she even _get_ a Uniquity?”

“Genetically,” said the hacker. “There’s Uniques all over my family tree. Aunts, uncles, cousins, not to mention my grandfather. He was one of the most powerful Uniques in history.”

“So are you gonna tell us who you are now?” Lance asked.

“Sure, if it’ll get Samurai to actually _believe_ me,” said the hacker. “My name’s Katie Holt. Usually I go by Pidge.”

Lance blinked a few times. “Hold on a second. You mentioned your grandfather. He wouldn’t happen to be—”

“Jameson Holt? Yeah. That’s my grandpa.”

“Your grandfather is Jameson Holt.”

“Yes.”

"The Jameson Holt."

"Yes."

“Okay, I have a question,” said Hunk. “And this question is for Pidge, so no one else answer it.”

“Yeah?” Pidge asked.

“Listen, our job as heroes is to help people. As soon as I heard why you hacked those lights, I didn’t want to ‘get you in trouble’ for it; I wanted to help you. So, what can we do to help you? Be honest. We may say no, but I want to hear it.”

Pidge stared down at her hands. “I want my brother back. I know I can’t have that—and before you say that hacking the traffic lights won’t get him back, I know that too. But I want _something._ I want _something_ that makes his death not just… what it is.”

Hunk looked over at Allura and mouthed a single word: _Please._

Allura took a deep breath in, then out, and then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Pidge,” Hunk said slowly, “with your powers, you could save _thousands_ of big brothers. You could stop bombings and mass shootings. You could expose corruption. You could track down human traffickers and sex offenders. You could clear people’s names. And with training and practice, your Uniquity could become even stronger. I wouldn’t be surprised if you eventually learned how to interface with a computer completely with your mind, no typing required.”

“What’s your point?” Pidge asked.

“You want to go far, right? Just like your brother said?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Hunk extended his hand. “Then come with us.”

“Hey, hold on,” Keith interrupted. “What do you mean, come with us? You’re not saying—”

“I _am_ saying, Samurai. I’m saying that Pidge should join the team.”

“Absolutely not,” said Keith.

“Would you rather there be a Unique with no affiliation roaming the city?” Hunk retorted. “You know that freelancers rarely last long before turning sour.”

“Samurai, enough,” said Allura. “I knew Malosi was going to suggest this, and I didn’t stop him.”

“Well, we have to check with HQ first,” said Keith. “Captain Shirogane—”

“Does not have the final say over who does and does not join the team,” Allura interrupted. “I respect the Captain’s wisdom, but he is _not_ the leader of the Paladins. I am.”

“Fine. But we still should tell him.”

“That was never a question,” said Allura. “We will leave this building and go immediately to headquarters. Sharpshooter, I would like you to make an official statement on behalf of the Paladins to any city official who asks. Do not reveal Pidge’s name or the fact that she is a Unique, and do not mention that we are considering letting her join the team.”

“Understood. Should I speak to the press?”

“No time for that,” said Allura. “We have things to do.”

“Say, Pidge,” Hunk said with a mischievous grin. “Wanna ride in a big yellow pickup truck?”

For the first time all day, Pidge cracked a smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	3. HQ

“Listen, so when we go in, let me do the talking at first,” Hunk said quietly as they approached the door. “It’s all gonna be okay. The Princess wants you to join, so it shouldn’t even be a problem.”

“Malosi?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah?”

“Will I learn your real names?”

“If you’re sworn in, then yes. Also, question: There’s this sort of official thing that I have to say when I tell everyone that I think you should join the Paladins, and I have to say your name. What should I say?”

“Use my full name,” said Pidge. “Kathryn Stella Holt.”

“Alright, let’s move,” said Allura. “I alerted Captain Shirogane that we found the hacker and are bringing her to headquarters, so he knows we’re coming.”

With that, she strode through the front door with confidence, Lance at her side.

The group walked down a hallway lined with trophy cases, all filled with awards granted over the years.

“Are these all yours?” Pidge asked, motioning to the shelves.

“No,” said Hunk. “A few other heroic teams operate out of here, so some of these belong to them. But many of them are ours.”

“Here we are,” said Allura, stopping in front of a wooden door. To the side of the door was a plaque engraved with the words  **CAPTAIN T. SHIROGANE.**

Allura knocked lightly on the door and then pushed it open.

“Come on in, Paladins,” said a voice from inside.

“Captain,” said Allura. “We located the hacker.” She motioned for Pidge to step forward.

Pidge gulped as she looked up at the man in the chair. She recognized his face—Captain Shirogane didn’t keep his identity a secret—and it was far scarier in person.

He blinked a few times as he looked down at her. “A child?”

Malosi walked up to Pidge’s side and took her hand in his. Pidge looked over at him with a surprised expression, but did not protest. “She’s not just a child,” he said firmly. “She’s a Unique. And not just any Unique. She’s the granddaughter of Jameson Holt.”

Captain Shirogane looked over at the Princess. “Is this true?”

“Sharpshooter and I believe so,” said the Princess. “Samurai is doubtful, but that’s to be expected.”

The Captain nodded, slowly, his eyes returning to Pidge and never leaving. “I knew Jameson Holt well,” he said. “He was a good friend. He told me all about his family, but never allowed me to meet them. Safer that way, he said. He never mentioned a Unique, though.”

Samurai smirked in triumph. “Told you.”

“But we know that Uniquities can develop later in life,” Malosi interjected. “And Jameson Holt died eight years ago.” He turned back to Pidge. “You said you’re fourteen, right?”

“Yeah. Fifteen in April.”

“Okay, so when he died, she was six or seven,” said Malosi. “Uniquities  _ rarely  _ are observable at that young an age.”

“This is all assuming that she is who she says she is,” Samurai pointed out.

“Well, that’s easy enough to confirm,” said Captain Shirogane. His eyes were still fixed on Pidge. “Jameson Holt always had a book at his bedside. What was it?”

Pidge grinned. This, she knew. “It wasn’t a book,” she said. “It was his personal journal. He said that the story he loved the most and wanted closest to his side, was his own.”

The Captain nodded. “Katie, right? The last years of his life, Jameson was always talking about his wonderful granddaughter named Katie.”

“That’s me,” said Pidge. “Usually I go by Pidge, though.”

“And he had a grandson—Matt?”

Pidge bit her lip. “He died,” she said quietly. “He died in a car accident at the first intersection I hacked because a driver didn’t stop at a red light.” She took a deep breath in and out, and then she looked up at the Captain. “I know what I did was wrong. I thought that causing chaos would give me some kind of satisfaction, but it didn’t. Instead I just made things worse. But when the Paladins found me, Malosi told me all about what I could do, if I use my powers for good. He told me that I could go far, just like my brother always said I would. I want to do that, for my brother and for my grandfather and for all the families I can help.”

“And how might you do that?” the Captain asked.

Malosi stepped forward. “I, Malosi, actively serving member of the Paladins, nominate Kathryn Stella Holt to join our team. I vouch for her Uniquity, her honor, her intent, and her benefit to our cause, and humbly ask for the support of everyone in this room.”

The Captain smiled. “Always the welcomer, Malosi.”

“What can I say? We can always use more allies.”

“Allies, Malosi?” the Captain asked. “Or friends?”

“Both.”

“Good answer. Princess?”

“I think she has potential,” said the Princess.

“I do too,” said Sharpshooter.

Samurai nodded, begrudgingly. “It’s not like I’m going to win on this one.”

“Listen carefully, Pidge,” said the Princess. “If you wish to join the Paladins, you will have to swear on your Uniquity that you will use your powers for good. You will earn a new name and will gain our standard powers—flight and invisibility. However, you are required to adhere to your promise, or else you will lose our standard powers  _ and  _ your Uniquity.”

“Understood,” said Pidge.

“So, you’re in?” Malosi asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” said Pidge. “Swear me in. I want to be a Paladin.”

“First you have to pick your new name,” said Malosi. “When the crowds cheer your name, what will they be saying?”

Pidge thought for a few minutes. “Gigabyte.”

“Raise your right hand,” said the Princess. Pidge nodded and raised her hand. “Do you, Kathryn Stella Holt, affirm that you are a Unique and are taking this oath of your own free will?”

“I do.”

“Do you recognize the immense power of your Uniquity?”

“I do.”

“Do you fully accept the responsibilities of being a Paladin?”

“I do.”

“Do you pledge to use your powers only for the good of others and never for harm or personal gain, and understand the consequences should you break this oath?”

“I do.”

“And do you commit to serving with respect, compassion, and love?”

“I do.”

“Then, with the power vested in me by my team and the trust of the people, I grant you the name of Gigabyte and the role of Paladin.”

Pidge’s eyes lit up—and then she promptly doubled over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	4. New Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated on time this time! Huzzah!
> 
> Warning: this one has a lot of dialogue in it. I promise that eventually, there will be less dialogue and more action. The whole dialogue thing is just kind of how I do exposition since I hate narrative explanation. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also, you may find some references to other shit in this chapter. You're welcome to comment what they are, but know that I do have moderation on and will delete anything that I believe will ruin my dignity.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter! :D

Malosi rushed to Pidge’s side and held her close. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Breathe.”

Pidge’s entire body shook as she tried to steady her breathing. “What’s happening to me?”

“Your quintessence is being awakened,” said Malosi. “Quintessence is sort of like our version of midichlorians—you know what those are, right?” Pidge nodded, face contorted in pain. “You have a ton of quintessence in your body, giving you your Uniquity, but it’s been mostly dormant all this time—and now it’s being activated. Right now, enough energy to power an entire city block is rushing through your body. It’ll all pass in a minute or two.”

“Hurts like a mother,” Pidge muttered.

“Breathe,” Malosi said again. “It’s almost over.”

A few moments later, the pain subsided, but the tingling in Pidge’s skin remained.

“Welcome to the Paladins,” said Malosi. “How do you feel?”

Pidge thought for a few seconds. “I feel like a nap.”

“Oh, isn’t that a mood,” Sharpshooter laughed. He ambled over to Pidge’s side and ruffled her hair. “When I first joined, I think I slept for two days straight.”

“There’s a bunker in the headquarters basement where we all have beds,” said the Princess. “We sleep in there sometimes when we need to.”

Pidge nodded, but her eyes were fixed on Samurai. “Are… are you mad at me?” she asked.

Samurai shook his head. “If you weren’t a Unique, there wouldn’t be any quintessence in you to activate. Taking the pledge would have literally killed you, and you’re not dead.”

“Logical enough… but seriously, can I have that nap?”

“Pizza first,” Sharpshooter declared. “Tell me you like pizza.”

Pidge’s eyes lit up, her mouth already starting to water. _“Oh, sweet God, I want a pizza.”_

“You got it, kid. Hang on a sec.” His body shimmered bright blue as he shifted back into his everyday form. “You wanted to see who we really were, yeah?”

“I’ve seen you before at school,” said Pidge. “You’re a junior, right?”

“Yeah! So are these two.” He motioned over to Samurai and Malosi. “C’mon, let’s show our newbie who we really are.”

“What are your names?” Pidge asked.

“I’m Lance. The Princess is Allura. Malosi is Hunk, and Samurai is Mullet.”

“Lance,” Samurai warned as he transformed.

“Fine, fine. His name’s Keith.”

“In all fairness, you do have a mullet,” Pidge pointed out.

“I’m gonna call for that pizza,” Keith muttered, pulling out his cell phone.

“Don’t worry, Pidge,” said Lance. “Keith’s all talk. He’s a sweetheart once you get to know him. Now come on.” He slung an arm around her shoulders. “We gotta show you the bunker.”

“Don’t wait for us,” said Allura. “Hunk and I need to file Pidge’s report.”

Pidge followed Lance as he led her towards an elevator, but her head wasn’t quite there. She couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed. All at once, everything was changing. The tingling in her fingers still hadn’t left, as if her hands had actual electricity stored inside them.

“Let’s wait for Keith,” said Lance, stopping in front of the elevator. “Hunk and Allura will be awhile. There’s a bunch of paperwork that has to happen when there’s a new team member, in order for you to get your watch. Your watch has basically—hey, are you alright?”

“Just taking it in,” she replied. “It’s. It’s a lot.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Lance. “If you ever wanna talk about it, we’re all here for you. We’re more than just a team, y’know? We’re a family. You’re a Paladin now, and that makes you our sister.”

“I… I’m maybe worried that I rushed into this,” she admitted. “I don’t want to back out or anything, but…”

“I remember feeling that way,” Keith said from behind them. Pidge turned around and looked up at him as he pocketed his cell phone. “Everyone teases me and says that I’m the hothead, the impulsive one, all that. Shiro’s the one who told me that it was okay. That rush, that willingness to dive in, he told me that that’s just your calling. I know it sounds silly, but that feeling means that you were destined to be here.”

“That’s what you call the Captain, then? Shiro?”

“Oh yeah,” said Keith. “All that Captain stuff, that’s just protocol when a visitor is in here. And y’know, some of the other teams that operate out of this base, they’ll call him Captain Shirogane, but we all call him Shiro.”

“Works for me,” said Pidge. “You seem to really care about him.”

“Shiro’s like my big brother,” said Keith. “I didn’t have many people growing up, but when I joined the Paladins, Shiro took care of me. He looked out for me, told me that I was going to be okay. Told me that they were all wrong about me—the ones who told me I was shit.”

“Sounds like how I used to be with Matt,” Pidge mused. “I’m glad you have someone like that.”

“Listen,” said Keith. “I know I wasn’t nice when we first met, and I’m sorry about that. You took the oath, so you know that Paladins are supposed to act with respect and love. And I also know that none of us can ever replace your brother. But what I can promise you now, is that you’re gonna have someone like that for the rest of your life. We’re gonna stick up for you. _I’m_ gonna stick up for you.”

“Thanks, Keith,” said Pidge. “Means a lot.”

They reached the bottom of the elevator to reveal another long hallway. “They’re really one for corridors here,” said Pidge.

Lance nodded, chuckling. “Whoever designed this place wanted us to get in a workout.”

“Hold that elevator!” a voice called from the other end of the hallway.

“Who’s that?” Pidge asked.

Lance stuck his foot in the elevator door. “Can’t see from here. We’ll find out in a second.”

A young woman with bright orange hair ran up to them. “Oh, hey there,” she said. “Wait, do you have a new recruit?”

“Sure do,” said Lance. “Pidge, meet Skylor, code name Amber. Skylor, this is Pidge.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Skylor. “Is that your code name?”

“Nah, that’s my real name. My code name is Gigabyte.”

“Cool name. I really gotta go now. See you around!”

“Seeya,” said Lance. He waved as Skylor stepped into the elevator and closed the door.

“So that’s another Unique?” Pidge asked.

“She’s part of a team called the Destined,” said Lance. “They don’t hang around in this HQ much, since it’s pretty far from the city they protect. Usually, they operate out of their flying ship. I’ve been up there once or twice, and it’s pretty cool. Their training deck is up there, and their computer system, their vehicles, it’s where they live, everything.”

“Wait, they have all that? I thought you were talking about a seaplane.”

“Nope,” said Lance. “Flying ship.”

“Like a flying aircraft carrier? Is that even a thing?”

“It’s a thing,” said Lance. “They’ve had one in the UK for awhile now. But no, the Destined have an actual, literal, flying boat.”

“An actual boat.”

“Yep.”

“A boat, that flies in the sky.”

“Yep.”

“That is awesome.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

“So why was she here?” Pidge asked.

“They operate out of the flying boat, but their overseer is still here at HQ,” said Keith.

“What’s an overseer?”

“Every heroic team has an overseer,” Lance explained. “The overseer monitors the area that the team protects—the city or whatever—and acts as a liaison between the team and that area. When there’s a problem, it’s the overseer’s job to contact the team and assign them the mission. Our overseer is Shiro. I forget the name of the Destined's overseer… begins with a J, I think. Julius? Something like that. But either way, the important thing to remember about overseers is that they’re not Uniques, which means they’re not part of the team. Shiro isn’t a Paladin, which means he can’t swear in new recruits or control anything that directly involves the team’s use of their powers. All of that stuff is the responsibility of the team leader.”

“And that’s Allura?”

“Yep, that’s Allura. As the team leader, Allura can basically ignore Shiro whenever she wants, although usually she doesn’t do that.”

“Good to know,” said Pidge. “So what’s this bunker like, anyway?”

“Great question,” said Lance. “You’re about to see.”

They stopped in front of a door with a giant gold P on it. On the right of the door was a silver push plate and a small diode. “The plate doubles as a sensor,” Lance explained. “It has two layers of security—it detects a chip that’s inside our watches, and it also reads your fingerprint when you put your hand up to it. So even if someone steals your watch, they won’t be able to get inside the bunker because their fingerprint won’t register.”

“Cool,” said Pidge. “So… you gonna open the door?”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, here we go.” Lance laid his hand on the silver plate. Moments later, the diode turned green, and Lance was able to push the door open. “Welcome to the bunker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	5. Stella Nascente

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains Pidge's memory of Matt's death, and some self-injury. If you don't want to read this, feel free to skip over the section in italics.
> 
> Oh, and the chapter title is Italian for "rising star."

“Whoa…” Pidge’s eyes widened as she looked around the room. “This is a bunker?!”

“Yeah, the word is a little misleading,” Lance shrugged.

“A _little?_ You have _couches_ and _chairs_ and a _television_ in here! With a _game console!_ In what universe is this a bunker?”

“Okay, a lot misleading,” Lance admitted. “It’s like I said, though. We’re like a family, and this is our home.”

Pidge took a few hesitant steps into the room, letting her hand brush against the leather of one of the couches. The room felt a lot like her family living room. Controllers were scattered across the floor in front of the television. She could almost hear her mother’s voice shouting, _Matthew and Kathryn Holt, you clean up this mess on the floor immediately or I’ll clean it up myself with a hammer and a broomstick,_ and then racing Matt for who could clean up more in thirty seconds. She usually won.

But this wasn’t home, and Matt wasn’t here. This was a secret room in a secret headquarters that she needed a special watch to get into.

What if she didn’t rise to the challenge? What if she wasn’t enough?

“Stop. Just stop.”

Pidge turned to see that Lance had come up next to her and was shaking his head. “Stop what?”

“You have the universal expression of a mental shit talker,” he said. “Listen, we’re all self-hating motherfuckers in here. Crap mental health is practically a requirement if you want to be a Paladin. But this bunker is our safe space. In here, everyone is okay just the way they are.” He extended his hand to Pidge. “Now come on. You gotta get the grand tour.”

Lance’s eyes danced with delight as soon as Pidge took his hand. Pidge thought that he might actually break into song.

~~~~

“Aaaaand this is our room!” Lance said brightly. “We all share, but it’s pretty roomy in here, so it’s not that much of a problem. And we all have our own space and everything. You’ll see.”

“Loft beds!” Pidge exclaimed as she entered the room. “I’ve always wanted one of those!”

The loft beds were all identical in structure—wooden with a simple access ladder, an attached dresser with two small shelves, and a desk and chair underneath—but everything else was different. Each of the Paladins had decorated the wall next to their bed, had different trinkets on the shelves, different items on their desks. Pidge was pretty sure she could guess which bed was whose—and not just because the sheets matched the accents on the Paladins’ uniforms.

“Looks like your bed is already here,” said Lance. “Oh, nice, it’s next to Allura’s! She always said she didn’t like being the only one in the back.”

Pidge hadn’t even noticed that there were five loft beds in the room. “Wait, how—”

“Don’t question it,” said Lance. “Every time someone new joins, their bed just… appears.”

“So mine’s the green one?” Pidge asked.

“Yep,” said Lance. “I guess that means that when you transform, your uniform will have green accents. We use the desk space for doing homework if we have to, or even sometimes if we need to research something for a mission, and then we use the space in the middle to hang out. There’s a closet next door with all sorts of fun stuff—beanbag chairs and games and things.”

“This is so cool,” said Pidge. “It’s like a slumber party.”

“Basically, yeah,” said Lance. “And the coolest part is, Allura lives here, so when we need to be here, we all just tell our parents that we’re at Allura’s house, and none of them press us any further. My parents has six other kids to worry about, Hunk’s moms are the chillest people I know, and Keith… well, Keith doesn’t like to talk about it, but let’s just say that his people don’t give a fuck in the wrong way.”

“Oh… wait, Allura lives here? Why?”

“No idea. I’ve asked a few times, and she kinda ducks out of the question. I figure it’s her own business.”

Just then, Keith poked his head in the door. “Pizza’s in the kitchen,” he said. “And I think that Hunk and Allura are almost done with that paperwork.”

“Perfect,” said Lance. “C’mon, new girl. It’s party time.”

~~~~

“Hey, kiddo,” said Pidge’s father. “Where were you?”

“I’m so sorry I was late,” said Pidge.

“I don’t mind that you were late,” said her dad. “But where were you?”

“Oh, I was at Rose’s,” Pidge lied, trying to keep her expression blank. “We did some homework together, that’s all. Hang on, I promised I’d text her when I got home.”

 

**[[Lance]]**

Is it okay to tell my parents?  
I mean, Grandpa was a Unique and everything

Yeah, just don’t reveal anyone else, or say that we go to your school or anything

 

“Kathryn,” her dad said sternly. “I can tell you’re lying. Tell me the truth, or I’m changing the WiFi password.”

Pidge grinned. “Okay, okay, fine. You caught me.” She rolled up her sleeve to reveal her new Paladin watch. “Hold on. I’ve technically never done this before. I think you do this…”

For a few seconds, all that could be seen of Pidge was a black silhouette outlined in glowing green. Lines of code scrolled across the negative space of her body—and then, in a flash of green light, she reappeared, fully suited up.

“Owww,” she whined. “They were right; it does hurt like hell the first few times.”

Her father dropped the glass he was holding. “Is that—are you—”

 _“Katie?!”_ Pidge’s mother ran into the room. “Katie, is that you?”

“Yeah,” said Pidge. “I’m a Paladin now, and my name is Gigabyte.”

“How—how on earth did you become a Paladin?!” her mother exclaimed.

Well, Pidge certainly wasn’t going to answer _that_ question truthfully. At least this time, she had a believable alibi. “Long story, and the others told me I have to keep that a secret for now. If I’m allowed to tell you, I promise I will.”

“I always wondered whether anyone else in our family would end up Unique,” Sam mused. “Are you allowed to tell us what your Uniquity is?”

Shit. Her parents watched the news; they surely knew about the traffic light malfunctions. If Pidge were to reveal her Uniquity now, they would put two and two together and know she was responsible.

“I can, but I want to keep it a surprise,” she said. “Pleeeaaase, can I keep one thing a surprise?”

“Oh, alright, fine,” said Sam.

“Sam, are you sure?” Colleen asked. “This Paladin business could be dangerous…”

“She’ll be fine,” said Sam. “Last I checked, they’re under Captain Shirogane’s watch, and Dad always said that he was one of the most trustworthy, reliable, and honorable people he’d ever met. He was the Captain’s mentor, y’know. I didn’t know about it for years—Dad kept it a secret and all—but when he finally told me, he had nothing but praise.”

“I’m going to be fine,” said Pidge.

“I just have one more question,” said Colleen. “Why did you decide to join?”

Pidge reached down her shirt and pulled out the small key that she always wore around her neck. “I had promises to keep.”

Colleen opened her mouth, about to ask more, but then closed it.

“I’m gonna go sit outside for a bit,” Pidge said quietly. She brushed past her parents and walked over to the back door. “If you need me…”

“Take your time,” Sam said gently.

~~~~

_“Okay, you can go in now.”_

_Pidge leapt up from her chair and all but bowled the nurse over as she ran down the hall._

_“Hey, slow down.”_

_She stopped short, right in front of the door to room 3681—her destination—to see that a familiar face was giving her a tired smile._

_“Matt?”_

_“Well, don’t just stand there,” said Matt. He strained slightly against the IV in his arm as he beckoned towards her._

_“I was so worried—they weren’t saying anything, no matter how many times I asked—”_

_“I’m so sorry, Pidge.”_

_“Don’t be.” Pidge walked into the room and sat down in a chair by his bed._

_“No—no, not about that—well, yes about that, but not just about that.” Matt sighed, softly. “I’m sorry because there’s so much we’re not going to get to do together.”_

_“What do you mean?” Pidge asked._

_“C’mon, Pidge; you’re a smart girl. You know that all of this—” he motioned to the IVs and monitors “—is just for show.”_

_“Matt, don’t say that,” Pidge begged. “You can’t just give up.”_

_“Pidge, I’m fighting as hard as I possibly can, just so I can stay alive long enough to say goodbye to you,” said Matt. “Every single part of my body is either in excruciating pain or is so drugged up that it barely exists.”_

_“You’re not dying. You can’t be dying.” Pidge’s entire body started shaking as tears began to fall._

_“You’re right. I’m not dying. I’m dead.”_

_“Don’t talk like that!” Pidge almost shouted._

_“If I don’t, I’d be lying,” said Matt. “And what do I always say about lying?”_

_Pidge almost shouted again, but closed her mouth. When she spoke again, it was almost inaudible. “Makes you careless or a coward,” she sniffed._

_Matt smiled, taking Pidge’s hand in his. “There’s my girl. Now listen to me, Stella,” he said, and Pidge wiped her tears because Matt only ever called her “Stella” when he had something important to tell her, “listen to me and remember absolutely everything I say. I know right now you’re feeling all sorts of things. You’re going to feel all sorts of things for awhile after this, and that’s okay. But please, Stella, I’m begging you, don’t give up. You have to keep going. You have to stay strong—if not for yourself, for me. And I need you to promise me something.”_

_“Depends what it is.”_

_“Someday, you’re going to hit your lowest point. You’re going to do something stupid or petty or mean and you’re gonna feel terrible about it. I need you to promise me that you’ll find a way to make up for whatever dumb thing you do—not to whoever or whatever you hurt, but to yourself. You’re a smart, kind, loving person, Stella, and I mean it when I say that you’re gonna go far. Don’t let the mistakes you make stop you from doing that. Promise?”_

_“I promise,” said Pidge. “Pinky swear.”_

_They locked pinkies. “And one more thing. On my desk, there’s my key to our shed. Keep it with you for as long as you need to remember me by—and then, someday, give it to someone who means a lot to you.”_

_“Like who?”_

_“You’ll know. Somewhere inside you, you’ll know.”_

_“Okay.”_

_“It’s almost time,” said Matt. “I love you so much, Stella. Don’t ever forget that.”_

_“I won’t. I promise I won’t. I love you too.”_

_Matt moved over a little on his bed. “C’mere. Sit with me.” Pidge didn’t sit down—instead, she curled up next to Matt, holding onto his hand. “Or that. That’s fine—hold on, move your head a bit; that hurts—there, that’s fine.”_

_A minute or so later, Sam and Colleen came in, holding back their tears._

_“Hey,” said Matt. “Thanks for letting me—”_

_“Of course,” said Sam. “Looks like she’s made herself at home.”_

_He tried to laugh, but couldn’t get it out._

_“It’s gonna be okay,” said Matt. “I love you all so much.”_

_And then he was gone. A few minutes passed in silence._

_“C’mon, Katie,” Colleen said quietly._

_Pidge stood up, but she didn’t go to her mother’s side. She ran for the wall, and threw herself at it, hitting her head over and over and over. Horrified voices called her name._

_She didn’t care. She didn’t want to remember._

_“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she sunk to the ground, head spinning. Stars flashed before her eyes, and then there was nothing._

~~~~

Pidge wiped a few tears from her eyes, leaning against the shed as the night breeze gently tickled her face. Of course, banging her head against the wall hadn’t made her forget that day—really, all it did was give her a nasty concussion that prevented her from seeing Matt—well, his body—one last time at the funeral.

It was probably better that way, to be honest.

“You were right, Matt,” she said quietly. “I… I really screwed up today. But I’m gonna make up for it. I will. I’m gonna keep my promise.”

Rubbing her eyes one more time, she looked up at the stars. Years ago, Matt had taught her how to look for and identify constellations, and since then it had become one of their favorite pastimes.

Almost immediately, Orion caught her eye. The Hunter was the first constellation she had learned to locate, and as such was her favorite.

Sometimes, she liked to imagine that it was actually Matt up there, watching over her from the sky.

The back porch light flickered on from behind her. “Katie, honey, it’s getting late,” her mom called. “You should come in and get some sleep.”

Pidge smiled and stood up, rubbing Matt’s old key between her fingers. Time to be great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	6. Squad Goals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a title okay

At first, Hunk had been reluctant to join the Paladins. He knew Keith, Lance, and Allura from school, and what he knew—what  _ everyone  _ at Garrison High knew—was that the three of them were inseparable friends, Garrison’s Three Musketeers, even without the knowledge that they were the Paladins. When they’d found out about Hunk’s Uniquity and invited him to join the team, Hunk was pretty sure he would never truly be one of them, and the notion of being a superhero, while tantalizing, was also utterly terrifying.

But in the end, Hunk’s decision was made for him by destiny, by bittersweet coincidence. Two nights after he had been invited to join the Paladins, one of his moms was talking about a group of seventh and eighth graders at her school who were going on strike to take a trip to DC and pressure Congress into passing stronger gun control laws.

“They really are brave,” said Hunk’s mom. “They all know they’re going to face consequences when they get back to school, they know that Congress won’t listen to them, and they know that they very well could get in a whole lot more trouble if they’re not careful. It’s a lot, and honestly I’m so proud to have them in my class.”

She turned to Hunk. “Listen, sweetheart. If there’s ever an opportunity to make the world a better place, you take it. It may be scary, and you may feel like you’re going at it alone or that nobody will listen, and you may face pushback, but it is  _ worth it.  _ It is  _ always  _ worth it. Change the world, no matter what it takes.”

The next day, Lance came over to his locker, his eyebrows raised slightly. “Well?” he asked.

Hunk nodded. “I’m in.”

Lance cracked a smile. “Then I’ll find you right after school.”

Now, of course, Hunk had no regrets. Being a Paladin filled him with a rush—of adrenaline, obviously, but also of a song-like, sunshine joy, so pure and clear and bright that it could cast aside concern as easily and effortlessly as Hunk could breathe.

To his surprise, the others had welcomed him with open arms. Instead of feeling lonely and left out, Hunk felt more included and part of a group than he ever had before. Garrison as a city was overwhelmingly white, especially the neighborhood he lived in, and not exactly enthused about gay people, so throughout elementary and middle school, Hunk’s dark skin and lesbian mothers tended to isolate him from his peers. Starting at Garrison High didn’t help matters much, either—while the school was  _ slightly  _ more diverse, Hunk still couldn’t find a place. After school, while other kids played sports and went to clubs, Hunk went home and studied and… yeah, that was about it. He played cards with his moms.

All of that changed when he joined the Paladins. Every day after school, they had training with a funny old guy whom everyone inexplicably called Master Coran, who taught them martial arts and helped them strengthen their Uniquities, and Shiro would “make” them do teambuilders that really just devolved into games of Uno with progressively sillier house rules. After that they usually would do their homework together before going home. Sometimes they would eat dinner in the bunker—they did this frequently when they had a mission and wanted to kick back together afterwards. This was when he and Lance in particular really bonded, as it was an indisputable fact that they were the only two Paladins who could cook for shit.

On weekends, the group was equally inseparable. They liked going to the local mall together, wandering around the shops and occasionally buying things—or else just going to the Target next door and holding elaborate scavenger hunts, or chasing each other down the aisles, or seeing who could push Pidge the farthest or spin her the most in a shopping cart.

Speaking of Pidge—things were better still now that she was on the team. Upon learning that Hunk also liked building things and technology, Pidge immediately converted an empty room in the bunker into a lab, where they would spend hours together on rainy days. They were currently working on a robotic personal assistant for Pidge that she could use in conjunction with her Uniquity. A few prototypes had been built, but there were still bugs that needed working out.

As for missions themselves, well,  _ everyone  _ loved missions. The feeling of active quintessence combined with adrenaline coursing through his veins alone was enough to make Hunk long for the next buzz of his watch, not to mention flight and invisibility and driving his beloved pickup truck. Sure, every Paladin had some set of wheels, but Hunk was adamant that his was the best—although Keith’s motorbike was pretty cool.

All that being said, there was one part of being a Paladin that did genuinely irritate Hunk, and that was all of the disruption it seemed to cause. He didn’t complain much about being pulled from school—Lance did most of that for him—but he did occasionally voice his frustration with the fact that it felt like the Paladins crashed into public areas like spaceships fallen to Earth. After almost every mission, there seemed to be some sort of damage in need of cleaning up. Hunk sometimes worried if they were doing more harm than good.

Of course we’re not, the others always said, going back to whatever they were doing. Lance would sometimes approach him an hour, two hours later, while Hunk was pacing around the bunker bedroom, and let him vent.

“I just want… I want some sort of confirmation,” Hunk said one day as he collapsed onto a beanbag chair. “Some sort of sign, some sort of something that proves that we really are heroes. Is that weird?”

Lance shook his head. “Everyone needs validation, man. And we have a tough job.”

“Yeah,” Hunk said quietly. “Yeah. We have a tough job.”

~~~~

They were chasing a thief, some guy who had broken into a bank and had stolen money and possibly a backup disk containing information on half a million cardholders. Keith had a decoy bag of money on the back of his motorcycle and was trying to send the thief on a wild goose chase so that Allura and Lance could land on his car and use their hydro- and telekinesis to stop it in its tracks. Meanwhile, Hunk had converted his usual pickup truck into a slick chase vehicle, where he and Pidge were following the thief so he couldn’t turn around.

“Stay on him,” Allura said through the comm. “Hunk, Pidge, you’re doing great. Lance and I are almost within range.

Suddenly, Keith’s voice came through. “Crap.”

“What’s wrong?” Pidge asked.

“Hunk, you’re gonna hate me,” said Keith.

“Why am I gonna—oh.”

Ahead of him, he could see the back playground of an elementary school, where students that couldn’t have been older than nine and ten were all playing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	7. The Playground

“Keith, we can’t crash into the park,” said Hunk. “There are kids there.”

“We don’t have any other choice,” Keith retorted. “The only turn between here and that playground goes right to the highway, where it’ll be even harder to stop him safely—not to mention that it’ll pull us further out of Lance and Allura’s range. Hunk, I’m sorry, but it’s our only shot. If we don’t do this, we’ll never catch him.”

“He’s right,” said Pidge. “We don’t have any other options here.”

“We’re almost there,” said Lance. “We’ll be able to stop the car before any kids get hurt.”

Hunk sighed quietly. This was exactly what he was talking about, the balance of harm and good.

That being said, he knew Lance and Allura well enough to know that when they said they could keep the kids safe, they meant it.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

Lance and Allura shimmered and became visible just as the car followed Keith into the park. Seconds later, the car was skidding and spinning to a stop, sparks flying everywhere.

“End of the line!” Lance shouted. “Step out of the vehicle with your hands in the air!”

“Damn it to hell!” a man shouted as he came out of the car. “You motherfucking bastards—”

“Watch your language,” Lance interrupted. “There are children here.”

~~~~

It was an _excellent_ day to be a third grader. Recess was fun and all, but it was March, and after three years of playing on the same playground every day for nearly three years, there was only so much in the way of new adventures to be had—and they were just old enough to start becoming dissatisfied with their routine.

And then a car crashed through the back gate of the field.

“Look, everyone!” shouted one of the boys. “It’s the Paladins!”

“Come back!” their teacher shouted as two-thirds of the class ran towards the car. “It’s not safe! Come—”

Just as they approached, a thick, translucent wall of ice burst out of the ground. A person-sized section of it glowed blue and Sharpshooter walked directly through it.

“Sorry, kids,” he said. “Can’t let you get too close. It’s not safe.”

“Awwww,” one of the kids whined. “You’re as bad as our teacher.”

“Tell ya what,” said Sharpshooter. He pressed his hand to the ice wall and it instantly became clear as glass. “You can see, but you can’t touch.”

The teacher came closer to the wall, as did most of the other students.

“Okay,” said the teacher. “Okay, you can watch and listen from behind the wall.” Cue cheering. “But if any of you try to get past the wall, it’s a call home. Got it?”

Police arrived on the scene a few moments later. Students and teacher alike watched eagerly as the thief was taken away in handcuffs and the Paladins shared high-fives. The ice wall disappeared and the Paladins allowed the children to come closer and say hello.

Nobody noticed that two girls had never approached the ice wall in the first place, and were still standing quite a few feet back.

~~~~

Hunk sighed as he stared out across the schoolyard and the ruined car parts scattered across it He knew that he really should be helping to clean up—his super-strength would be perfect to clear out some of this rubble—but that small, selfish part of him whispered in his ear that to help clean up the mess would acknowledge that he had taken part of it, which he had never wanted to do. It wasn’t _his_ fault that there was a mess across the schoolyard; why should he help to clean it up?

People always assumed that Hunk—that is, Malosi—was the selfless one, the caring one, the ray of sunshine that never faded. Hunk wanted to think that way of himself—he desperately wished that he could—but to do so would be a lie so egregious that entertaining the notion for even a few minutes made Hunk sick to his stomach.

Selfish he was; a liar he was not.

In his periphery, he could hear the voices of two children.

“Look, he’s busy.”

“Oh, come on. He’s not doing anything. Go say hi.”

Hunk turned to see that two girls were standing side by side, two girls that he hadn’t seen or talked to before. They must not have come up to the wall earlier.

“Hello,” he said. “What are your names?”

“I’m Sydney, and this is my friend Elisa,” said the girl on the right.

“It’s nice to meet you,” said Hunk. “How old are you two?”

“We’re nine,” said Sydney. “I didn’t mean to bother you or anything. It’s because Elisa always talks about being a big fan.”

“Oh, really?” Hunk asked. He knelt down so he was at Elisa’s eye level. “You’re a fan, eh?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, looking away.

“You’re her favorite Paladin,” said Sydney. “She always says so.”

“Sydney—”

“Thank you,” said Hunk. “That means so much to me.”

“What are they doing over there?” Elisa asked, pointing to the other Paladins.

“Helping clean up the mess,” Hunk replied. “We did crash a car into your field, after all. Actually, I should probably go and help.”

“And we need to go,” said their teacher, coming over. “Come on, girls. Recess is over. Go get in line with the others.”

“It was nice to meet you girls,” said Hunk. “Listen, you go get in line like your teacher said. I’m sure we’ll see each other again someday, alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you will,” said the teacher. “Now let’s go.”

Hunk watched quietly as the two girls and their teacher walked away.

No one had ever called him their favorite Paladin before—it was always… well, it was always one of the others.

“Hey, Malosi, can you give us a hand?”

He looked up to see that Allura was struggling to levitate a heavy piece of metal into the back of a cleanup vehicle.

“Lemme get that for ya,” said Hunk as he reached Allura’s side. He glowed yellow as he caught the piece of junk and tossed it onto the junk pile.

“Thanks,” she said. “Who were you talking to over there?”

“Just some kids,” said Hunk. “Said they were fans.”

~~~~

_A week later..._

“Alright, it’s mail day. Who’s gonna check it?”

The Paladins looked up from their game of Uno to see that Shiro was leaning in the doorway.

 _“Uuuugggghhhhhh,”_ Lance groaned loudly. “The post office is _so_ far away.”

“And nobody even sends us any mail,” Pidge added.

Years ago, when the Paladins were first founded, they set up a P.O. box, so people could send them letters. It had been popular in the day, but when letters went out of style, the P.O. box got less and less use.

Unfortunately, there were still occasional letters, usually important ones (like bills), and so, every week, someone had to go to the post office and get the mail.

“You go,” Lance whined.

“I went last week,” Shiro reminded him. “And the week before that. And the week—”

“I’ll go,” said Hunk. “It’s alright.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asked.

“Yeah! I could use some air.” Hunk grinned and waved before following Shiro out the door.

~~~~

Metal hinges gave weary moans as Hunk opened the door to P.O. Box 113 and stuck in his hand, expecting nothing.

Instead, he found a standard envelope. He turned it over to see that while the return address was pre-printed with the name of a school that struck vaguely familiar, the address on the front was written in colored pencil, in a child’s handwriting, and it was addressed to “Malosi.” Not to Shiro, not to Allura, not to the Paladins. “Malosi.”

Hunk’s first impulse was to clutch it tight the whole way home before waving it around to show everyone, like an acceptance letter, like a magic ticket, but then he realized that he wanted this moment for himself.

Slowly, carefully, he eased the fold of the envelope away from the rest, and pulled out a piece of paper, folded in thirds. He unfolded the paper to reveal a slightly messy drawing, also in colored pencil, of himself and a small girl, with a caption peacefully tucked away inside a cloud.

_Thank you for talking to me at school. Can we be friends? From Elisa Medina_

That was why the name of the school was familiar—it was the school that he and the others had chased a car into.

Smiling, Hunk tucked the drawing into his pocket and locked the door of the P.O. box.

“I’ll be seeing you soon,” he said quietly, and then he left the post office. He had a letter to write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	8. Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SO SORRY THIS IS LATE!! Hope that it was worth the wait!

“Elisa, another letter came in.”

Elisa jumped out of her seat and bounded up to her teacher. “Can I have it?”

“Wait until you get home to open it, okay?” Her teacher handed the envelope to Elisa. “Go put it in your cubby for now, okay?” She turned back to her computer, pulling up the video she was planning on showing the class.

Elisa pouted. “Can I write back during recess? It’s supposed to rain.”

“Finish that math homework you were supposed to do, and then fine. But don’t you want to—”

She turned around to see that Elisa was back at her desk, reading a book.

“I’ll never understand that kid,” she said quietly.

~~~~

“Elisa, d’you wanna play a game with me?”

Elisa looked up to see that Sydney was leaning over her desk. “In a bit,” she replied. “I got another letter from Malosi and I wanna write back.”

“Oooooooohhhh… What does it—can I see it?”

“Sure!” Elisa passed over the letter.

Sydney looked down at the letter and began to read out loud. _ “Dear Elisa, Thank you for your last letter. I’ve never heard of that ice cream store before, but I’ll see if I can find it. If I can, I’ll bring the other Paladins to get ice cream with me. That sounds like lots of fun! My favorite ice cream place is right next to the movie theatre. Have you ever been there? Malosi. _ ”

“That’s the place I was talking about,” said Elisa. She pulled out a piece of paper and her colored pencils. “I’m gonna send him another picture.”

“Whatcha gonna draw?” Sydney asked.

Elisa turned slightly pink. “Can I draw you and me at the ice cream store?” Sydney nodded. “Great!”

~~~~

“I’m gonna go get the mail.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been going to get the mail a lot. Like, every day. What are you doing over there?”

“I have a pen pal,” said Hunk.

“Is that code for you having a girlfriend?” Pidge asked.

“No, it isn’t, thank you very much.”

Pidge’s eyes gleamed. “The Paladin doth protest too much, methinks.”

“It’s a kid from that school we chased a car into.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Her name is Elisa.”

“Pretty name,” said Lance. “Wait, is that that kid you were talking to at the very end?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. We’re pen pals now.”

“That’s so cute!” said Allura. “And she must love that, being pen pals with a Paladin.”

_ Not just  _ any _ Paladin,  _ Hunk thought to himself.  _ Her  _ favorite  _ Paladin. _

He smiled, and ran out the door.

~~~~

_ Three days later…  _

“Ms. Allister!”

Emily turned around to see that Amanda, one of the secretaries, was chasing after.

“Oh, hi, what’s up?” she asked.

“I just got a call. One of your students is switching schools.”

“Oh? Who’s switching?”

“Sydney,” Amanda replied.

Well,  _ crap.  _ “When does she leave?” Emily asked hesitantly.

“She’s already left.”

Well,  _ shit. _

~~~~

“Ms. Allister? Where’s Sydney?”

Emily looked down to see that Elisa was standing next to her.

Here we go.

“Sydney switched schools,” she said quietly. “Miss Amanda just told me this morning.”

Silence, as Elisa processed what she had heard. Then—

“You’re lying.”

Stage of grief number one: denial.

Other students had questions, were calling her name, and she had to get the students settled down so they could get ready for math, and—

“Ms. Allister!”

“Yes, Marcy, I know that Elisa just left the classroom,” said Emily. “What I’m wondering is how on earth you could have seen her leave, when you’re supposed to be reading a book.”

Tattletales.

All she could do was hope that she was right about where Elisa was going.

The classroom phone rang. “Don’t touch it!” Emily called across the classroom as she made her way to the phone. “Hello?”

“I have Elisa.”

Emily sighed in relief as the familiar voice of the school psychologist came through.

“I can stay here with her for maybe an hour, and then I have places to be.”

An hour. She could work with an hour.

“Okay. I’ll call back later.”

~~~~

Something was different about Elisa’s letters.

Before, they had generally responded to the last thing that Hunk had said, and usually they had a couple of sentences, allowing for them to carry a conversation. Now she only sent drawings, and they seemed completely arbitrary, having nothing to do with what Hunk had sent her.

“I’m just worried,” he said to Lance. “I mean, her letters were always a little odd, but now they’re incoherent. I just don’t understand what changed.”

“Any ideas?” Lance asked.

“None that don’t sound like conspiracy theories.”

Pidge ambled over to the table. “Do you still have the old ones?”

“I have every letter she’s ever sent me,” Hunk replied. “I know it sounds weird, but they’re really important to me.”

“Go get them,” said Pidge. “I’ve been teaching Rover how to analyze and look for patterns. This’ll be good practice for him.”

“Rover?” Lance asked.

“The bot that we’ve been working on,” Hunk explained. “And yeah, okay.”

A few minutes later, Hunk had all of the letters laid out in chronological order, and a small robot shaped like a pyramid was floating at Pidge’s side. “Just to make Rover’s work easier, can you try and split them into the older and newer letters?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah, sure. The split happens right here.” Hunk split the letters into two piles.

“Alright then,” said Pidge. “Rover, do your thing.”

The robot began to scan the letters with a soft blue-green light. A few moments later, it beeped softly. “Looks like he found something,” said Pidge. She held out her right hand to the robot. “Show me.”

“What are they doing?” Lance asked as the robot landed on Pidge’s hand.

“He’s showing her what he found,” Hunk replied. “She can use her Uniquity to interface with the bot and access the data he’s collected, just like she used her Uniquity to get your email password.”

“Who’s Sydney?” Pidge asked, green light fading from her eyes.

Hunk blinked a few times. “Elisa’s best friend, why?”

“She’s mentioned in some capacity in almost every single one of the old letters, and in none of the new ones,” said Pidge. “Hmmm. Let’s go down to my lab. I need some more space to work.” With that, she stood up and started to run down the hall, Rover right next to her.

“Our lab,” Hunk called after her.

When Lance and Hunk reached the lab, Pidge was sitting on a swivel chair in front of a concave wall of screens, Rover perched on a metal plate at her side.

“I’m pulling the school records to figure out more about Sydney,” she said when she heard the other two walk in, still staring at the screens. “You’re lucky your friend isn’t white, and that her teacher makes her put the date on everything.”

“I’m confused,” said Lance.

“Her name is Elisa Medina. Latinx name. Not a lot of Medinas in Garrison. And she put dates on all of the letters, so I can focus on the time range just around when Hunk noticed the change. Aha! Gotcha!”

“What?” Hunk asked.

“I pulled up the attendance records from Elisa’s class for the two weeks surrounding the first strange letter, and look. For the first week before that first strange letter, there is a Sydney in Elisa’s class, but just before the date written on that first letter, Sydney’s name disappears. Hang on; let’s find out what happened to Sydney…” She clicked on Sydney’s name. “Official switch was filed on a Saturday. Sydney doesn’t show up to school on Monday, and on Tuesday, Elisa writes that first strange letter.”

“So are you saying that Sydney wrote those first letters for Elisa?” Lance asked.

“It’s a thought,” said Pidge. “Rover can check, though. Rover, analyze samples from both sets of letters and look for differences in handwriting and art style.”

An orange ANALYZING took up the center of Pidge’s wall of screens. A few moments later, the words changed to a flashing NO DIFFERENCES DETECTED.

“I didn’t think so,” said Pidge. “Elisa definitely wrote all of the letters herself, but something…  _ oh.  _ Oh, god. Poor kid.”

“What?” Hunk asked.

Pidge spun around to look at Hunk. “Elisa’s letters, what’s weird about them?”

“They make no sense. They’re incoherent; they have nothing to do with what I send her.”

“Like a kid who takes the test without having read the book?” Pidge tried.

“Yes, exactly like—oh.” Hunk’s face fell as it clicked, as it all made sense.

Elisa couldn’t read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!


	9. Tarzhay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [in case the chapter title wasn't obvious](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SmJ0GYk_DU)
> 
> I know these chapters have been really short, but I'm trying to keep up with the every week updating business and it's hard to do. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll be able to write more each week.

_ Three days later… _

For once, the Paladins  _ weren’t _ going to Target to push Pidge around in a shopping cart or have a scavenger hunt or play chase down the aisles. Instead, they were there to see some new Paladin-themed merchandise that had hit the shelves a day prior. Apparently the new action figures and plush dolls were nearly gone, although the more expensive bed sheets, towels, and Paladins: The Game, were taking a little longer to sell.

“I hope nobody gets mad at us, thinking we’re doing some kind of unauthorized promotion,” said Hunk.

“Aw, nobody will care,” said Lance. “Target is going to make more money today because of us being there. How can they complain?”

They landed in front of the Target and walked towards the door, invisible so as not to create a ruckus  _ quite _ yet. “Is this the first time we’ve gone into the Target suited up?” Pidge asked.

“I think so,” said Allura. “Which means that we  _ cannot  _ make a mess and be silly like we do when we’re here in civilian clothes. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Keith.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out where the Paladin merchandise was located—all they had to do was follow the trail of children (and adults, actually) to a massive display.

“Wow,” said Pidge, watching as the shelves grew emptier and emptier. “People seriously love us.”

“I mean, are you surprised?” Lance asked with a cheeky grin. “We are superheroes, after all.”

Allura rolled her eyes. “And modest, too.”

“Aww, nuts!” a small voice called out loudly from a few feet away. “They’re all out of the good ones. Look!”

The others were still teasing each other, but Hunk turned towards the source of the sound—a young boy, about ten or eleven. Hunk couldn’t see his face, or that of the man and younger girl next to him.

“All they have left is Malosi,” the boy continued. “Who even  _ wants _ a Malosi one? He sucks.”

“Stop it!” the girl next to him exclaimed. “Malosi is just as good as the others!”

Hang on. That voice sounded familiar.

“No he’s not,” the boy argued. “His power is stupid, and his truck is stupid. Even the Princess is cooler than him, and she’s a girl.”

“He’s not stupid! He used his truck to chase a bad guy into the school playground.”

No  _ way. _

“Oh, right, your stupid story—”

“You were at school that day!”

“Yeah, okay, so he chased the car in, but the Princess and Sharpshooter blew it up. And you still won’t show me any of those letters you say he’s written you.”

_ No way. _

“Yeah, cuz you’ll just mess them up!”

“Maybe I will, but I’m gonna keep calling you a liar until you show me.” The boy crossed his arms. “Cuz you are. You can’t even  _ read,  _ Elisa. How would you even write letters to him, when you’re so stupid that you can’t even read?”

As soon as he heard her name, Hunk shimmered into view without a thought. “She’s not lying.”

Both kids turned around instantly, jaws dropping.

“Hmm,” said Hunk, striding past them to look at the figurines. “Not my best likeness. I think yours was better, Elisa.”

“How long have you been standing there?” the boy asked.

“Awhile,” Hunk shrugged. He turned to the boy. “Are you Elisa’s brother? What’s your name?”

“Yeah,” said the boy. “I’m Christopher.”

For a fleeting second, Hunk considered doing the “proper” thing, to say “Nice to meet you” and leave them to it—but then the temptation became too strong.

He raised an eyebrow. “Tell me, Christopher, would you ever want to be a Paladin?”

Christopher’s eyes lit up. “Yeah!”

“You think you’d make a good one?”

“Yeah, obviously.” Christopher rolled his eyes.

Hunk turned to Elisa. “What about you, Elisa? Want to be a Paladin?”

“Yeah, if you wanted me to be one,” Elisa shrugged.

“She’d make a lousy Paladin,” said Christopher. “Can’t even read.”

“Actually,” said Hunk, “I think that Elisa would make a fine Paladin. There’s no rule saying you have to be able to read to be a Paladin. On the other hand, when you become a Paladin, you have to promise to be respectful and kind to everyone. You don’t call people stupid, and you definitely don’t make fun of other people.”

“What’s your point?” Christopher asked.

“The point is, if I got to pick someone to be a Paladin, I’d rather have a girl who can’t read than a boy who’s mean to his sister,” said Hunk. He smiled at Elisa, and handed her a twenty-dollar bill. “Here ya go. Get something with my face on it.”

Elisa’s eyes lit up. She threw her arms around Hunk. “Thank you!”

“Anytime, kid. Well, I should go.”

“Wait!” Elisa grabbed Hunk’s wrist. “In two weeks, my school’s having a spring concert, and I’m in it. Will you come?”

Hunk blinked a few times. “Do you want me to?”

“It’s at my school, in two weeks on Friday. It’s on the school website and everything. Please?”

In a year and a half of being a Paladin, Hunk had never been asked to attend a civilian event. Sure, the Paladins were invited to everything, but this wasn’t the Paladins. This was Hunk—well, Malosi—separated from the other Paladins by the pull of the people, a magnet that, as far as Hunk was aware, only Allura and Lance had ever been invited to touch, in the form of keys to the city from the mayor, trophies and recognitions and gifts from organizations, microphones from the press.

And here was a nine-year-old girl with wavy, slightly messy hair, clutching his twenty-dollar bill to her chest, inviting him to a concert.

“Okay,” said Hunk. “I’ll try. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”

It was then that the man with them finally spoke. He had been looking at something or other a few feet away, seemingly not paying attention to the earlier arguments or Hunk’s presence.

“Go get in line with your things, you two,” he said. “I’ll be with you in a second.”

“Bye, Malosi,” said Elisa, hugging him again. “I’ll write you another letter tomorrow!”

Hunk waved. “Seeya around, kid.”

“So you really do write letters with her,” said the man. “I thought that Christopher was right, that she was making it up. He’s right that she doesn’t know how to read.”

“I know,” said Hunk. “I worked that out already.”

“And you’re still writing to her? Wow.”

“You should probably get back to them,” said Hunk. “Can’t have your kids wandering on their own.”

“Oh, they’re my foster kids,” said the man. “But yeah. Thanks for keeping her busy.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Hunk. He waited until the man was out of sight, and then rolled his eyes.

~~~~

“Where were you?” Allura asked as Hunk came back up to the group.

“Saying hi to someone,” said Hunk. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. I gotta go look something up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments give me life. Please leave one. (Note: I have moderation on. I will block comments that I feel are nasty and gross, or if they contain spoilers.)
> 
> If you like this fic, please consider [buying me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/singarebelsong)
> 
> [Here's my Tumblr](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com).
> 
> There is a Discord server for fans of Constellations Rising. Feel free to message me on Tumblr or at SingARebelSong#7584 if you're interested!

**Author's Note:**

> That's all for now! See you next week!


End file.
